Evidence for Prosecution.
Dr Bernard H. Spilsbury
long as that; it would be impossible to do so, I think, in most
cases.
Do you not know cases where in fact any woman's urine has
been, under circumstances such as I am putting to you, retained
for longer than twenty-four hours and where it has had to be
drawn off, and very large quantities drawn off where it is?—I have
known cases, yes.
As the result of her condition of mind and new surroundings 1
—Yes, it is possible, certainly.
And of no other disease?—Yes.
So it is possible that this was mere retention in that way?—
Probably with diminished secretion. I grant that as an alter-
native, certainly.
I am a layman dealing with medical matters, but with sup-
pression would you not expect to find, when the urine starts again,
bleeding?—It depends a good deal on the cause of suppression.
That would be a very ordinary thing to find where there has
been suppression?—If the suppression is due to acute Bright's
disease, yes; but there are other causes of suppression in which
you will not find that.
There is no evidence of bleeding in this case, so I will not
worry about it?—If there had been it would have been noted.
The condition she suffered from may have been due to reten-
tion, not suppression ?—Retention with reduced secretion; I think
that is important.
Dr. Townsend, I think, expressed the view that retention
might have been due to the vomiting, loss of fluid?—Yes, reduced
secretion in fact; that would account for the reduced secretion.
You agree with what Dr. Townsend said about that; that
might be the cause ?—Yes, I do.
For how long after taking the fatal dose of arsenic would
you expect to find arsenic in the urine?—It depends, of course,
largely on the size of the dose and the amount which is retained.
You are speaking of a non-fatal dose, are you?
What is the longest time that you know of where arsenic has
been found in urine where a possibly fatal dose has been taken?—
I think the longest in my experience is a matter of ten days, but
I fancy that a period of three weeks would about cover a non-fatal
dose.
Reported cases?—Yes.
Ten days in your own experience and three weeks as a possi-
bility?—Yel
I am not suggesting for one moment that the 3/20ths—about
l/7th—of a grain per day that Mrs. Armstrong had at Barnwood
had anything to do with her death; I never suggested anything of
the sort, but what I want to know is, supposing a person is suffer-
ing from arsenical poisoning, ^>uld the giving .of l/7th of a